1. Calories. If you don't get enough calories to actually gain weight, you won't. Try to get about 500 calories more than you burn. More than that will just build fat and then you'll have to spend more time cutting and less time bulking. At a 500 calorie surplus you can expect to build about 50/50 muscle and fat but that will vary for each individual.

2. Get enough protein. 2-3 times the RDA is appropriate. Higher protein is actually more important during a cut. In other words, 1.6-2.4 g/Kg of body weight. Spread it between meals. 3 meals is enough.

2. Carbs. You need enough carbs to fuel your activities. If you run out of energy during your exercises, you're not eating enough. Replenish your carbs after your workout.

3. Fats. You need fat for building muscle and hormones. Don't try to go low fat. Fat does not make you fat. Eat fat at each meal.

4. The rules change if you're on a keto diet and it's too complicated to include here. It's irrelevant for most people anyway.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

I don't process carbs very well at all, and even I bulk with greater than a 1:1 protein to carb ratio. Usually 1:1.3 or 1:1.4. Most people are better off closer to 1:2. Carbs don't just fuel your workout, they increase your appetite allowing you to eat enough to grow.

That can be mitigated by the type of carbs you eat. Root veg, rice, etc are usually tolerated better than some alternatives. I like oats once in a while. The trick is to find the balance that works for you.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

So do you guys prefer chinups over barbell curls, and chest dips over incline bench press?

I like going to the gym, but I have no interest in living in it. Chin-ups with a supinated (curl) grip works the pulling muscles of the back, shoulder and arms in one shot. It's a clear choice over a one-trick pony like curls - at least for me.

But hey - if you've really worked out hard, throwing in a couple of sets of curl candy at the end is a just reward.

As for chest dips vs. incline bench presses, it's not an exact apples to apples comparison. The chest dip emphasizes the sternal (lower) area of the pecs, while the incline emphasizes the clavical (upper) area. I can use the close grip dips without any problems, but that works the anterior deltoids and triceps more than the chest. Dipping to emphasize the chest (wider grip and leaning torso) aggravates the hell out of my shoulders, so I don't do them. But if I did, it would be to replace the flat (or even decline) bench press, not the incline.

...As for chest dips vs. incline bench presses, it's not an exact apples to apples comparison. The chest dip emphasizes the sternal (lower) area of the pecs, while the incline emphasizes the clavical (upper) area. I can use the close grip dips without any problems, but that works the anterior deltoids and triceps more than the chest. Dipping to emphasize the chest (wider grip and leaning torso) aggravates the hell out of my shoulders, so I don't do them. But if I did, it would be to replace the flat (or even decline) bench press, not the incline.

I think I may have caused the confusion here... The original program included OHP, incline bench press and bench press. I suggested to drop the incline bench press here and add the (triceps) dips, because between doing OHP and bench press the incline bench press seemed to bring "less bang for the buck". I didn`t mean to say incline bench press were the same as dips. The (triceps) dips seemed to be a useful addition to the program to me that wasn`t already covered.

The (triceps) dips seemed to be a useful addition to the program to me that wasn`t already covered..

The triceps dip is a vertical press, just like the overhead press The anterior delts and triceps switch roles as synergist and target in the two exercises, but both muscles are strongly recruited during exercise execution. Much more so than the chest. The two exercises are somewhat redundant in the same routine

Crow wrote:

I´m sorry for the confusion I caused...

Actually, Jclem23 had already proposed adding either incline presses or chest dips to his routine prior to your comment. He wanted to train chest on his overhead press day, and wanted feedback on which exercise the group liked better.

Jungledoc posted something that should be read by anyone putting together a routine.

My philosophy with the program has been to start light and constantly increase the weight and reps, while keeping the reps under 5. I also use 3-5 warmup sets, gradually working up to the working weight. For example, today, I was using 200 lbs for my squats. I used the following warmup scheme: 45:5, 95:4, 135:3, 165:2, 185:1.

My deadlifts and squats have gone up dramatically. This is probably because I had never really done them with barbells before, but I'm still pleased with my progress, considering its been only 6 weeks.

Squat: 135 for 5x5 to 200 for 5x5Bench: 115 for 5x5 to 140 for 5x5Deadlifts: 135 for 5x5 to 215 for 5x5OH Press: 70 5x5 to 95 5x5Pullups: 3 sketchy sets of 4 to 3 good sets of 6

The one lift I'm having trouble with is the barbell rows. I started off at a higher back angle using heavier weight, but then I tried to do them more parallel to the floor because that's what both the stronglifts 5x5 program and Glenn Pendlay recommend.The problem is, my flexibility is poor, so I'm having trouble getting to parallel. And,I can't pull the bar all the way to my chest, even when I pull as far up as I can. My grip width is about the same as my bench press, which is what medhi from stronglifts recommends. My pinkies are about an inch in from the rings. today I even tried stacking 45 lbs plates to make the pulling distance shorter, but I still couldn't pull it to my chest. And, they seem to fry my back! Any suggestions? I'll attach a link to the video with my barbell row form.

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